The widow of a sailor, who was injured during the worst peace time maritime disaster in Australian history, has received her settlement from the federal government, 45 years after the ship accident.

Kathleen Britton has been notified that she will receive $120,000 as compensation from the Commonwealth. Her husband, Leading Airman Peter Britton, was aboard the HMAS Melbourne on the night of February 10, 1964. That night, the Melbourne collided with the HMAS Voyager. The impact left the Voyager cut in two, and killed 82 people of the 314 on board. Peter Britton was a crewmember on the Melbourne.  He and his crew members worked for hours, helping transfer the injured sailors on the Voyager onto helicopters for evacuation to shore.

After the accident, he and his fellow workers were told by their commanders to forget about the incident. Britton, however, fell into drinking, completely traumatized by the experience. According to his widow, the disaster stayed with him for the rest of his life in the form of addictions to drinking, smoking, night sweats, and mood swings.  He suffered from anger and depression and experienced long periods of self blame. He developed an obsessive disorder that had him undertake endless counting rituals. He frequently suffered from flashbacks. In 2003, Britton died of a stroke at just 61 years of age.

Two royal commissions were held after the ship accident. The first one in 1964 found that the Voyager was at fault by failing to maintain a proper lookout. The Melbourne's bridge crew was also blamed for failing to alert the Voyager of a possible collision. In 1967, a second royal commission found that the Voyager's captain, Duncan Stevens, was unfit to captain a ship at the time of the accident, due to alcohol and amphetamine use. The years since the collision have seen hundreds of maritime lawsuits filed in the tragedy.

Maritime lawyers may be familiar with the judicial delays in settling lawsuits, but this one is exceptional. With this settlement, Britton became the last personal injury case from the tragedy to be settled. Kathleen believes it is a hollow victory because much of the settlement amount will go towards legal fees and the other expenses of fighting the case.